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Monday, July 1, 2013

The Baseball Historian's Notes for July 1, 2013: For the Love of the Game

One of the more endearing aspects of baseball is the way it can attract
people and hold them in its gentle clutches for the remainder of their days. In
an increasingly fast-paced world, professional players are more likely to be
transitory; following the money or just the simple opportunity to stay in the
game. No matter, there are baseball lifers all around who find that they are
unable to do anything else but stay involved with the national pastime.

One of the most famous examples of a baseball lifer was Johnny Pesky, who was
affiliated with the Boston Red Sox for an astounding 61 years. He was so
closely linked to the team that he literally became synonymous with them, as
evidenced by the eponymous Pesky Foul Pole in right field at Fenway Park. Such
men are ambassadors and reminders of how much baseball can infiltrate the soul.

***One of the current longest-tenured baseball lifers is Doc Edwards.
He is entering his 57th year in professional baseball, having served as a
player, manager, coach and just about everything in between.

Edwards played parts of five major league seasons as a catcher with
four teams, including the New York Yankees. He hit just .238 with 15 home runs
before retiring for a new career in the dugout. He has 33 minor/independent
league seasons and three major league seasons of managing under his belt.
Although he has won over 2,000 collective games, his career record is below
.500.

He has never been a star but always stuck with his game, and there
doesn’t appear to be any end in sight. Edwards is a tremendous example of why
baseball is magical to so many. In addition to a pastime it can also become a
life, and a very good one at that.

***Hall-of-Fame pitcher Cy Young also remained involved in the game
long after retiring as a player in 1911. This picture
of him as an 87-year-old, which was taken at a 1954 old-timers game, shows
youth knows no age when it comes to baseball. Sadly, he passed away the
following year, but remained connected to his beloved sport until the end.

***Many of baseball’s legends are only described through written
records and first-person narratives because of having played before the age of
television. This included one of the greatest pitchers of all time, Walter
Johnson, who spent his entire 21-year major league career pitching for the
Washington Senators.

He won 417 games in his career, which is second all-time, behind only
Cy Young. Unfortunately, fans and historians aren’t able to cue up video of his
greatest starts but there are tantalizing tidbits of the right-hander in
action.

This clip
shows the impossibly lanky right-hander warming up and in game action. With
long arms that seemingly would have allowed him to scratch his knees without
bending at the waist, it’s easy to see how he was able to throw such a mighty
fastball that earned him the nickname of “Big Train.”

***A little more than 29 years ago, one of the most unusual and scary
moments in baseball history occurred at Cleveland Stadium during a game between
the Indians and Texas Rangers. A 10-cent
beer promotion turned ugly quickly, as boozy fans sparked a riot and caused
the two teams to fight their way together to their respective clubhouses with
bats.

The ugly
incident caused the Indians to forfeit the game and ensured fans would
never enjoy another discounted frosty adult beverage at a major league game
again. Paying $8-10 for a beer may elicit complaints but another way to look at
it is to be thankful for how it helps prevent a repeat of that one infamous
night in Cleveland.

***Hall-of-Fame
pitcher Christy Mathewson had a reputation of being an educated gentleman when
he played during the early 1900s, which by contrast was known as a
rough-and-tumble era. Despite being known as a good guy, Matty played the game
as hard as anyone, including taking advantage of stealing signs if possible.

This excerpt
from Mathewson’s 1912 book, “Pitching in a Pinch: Baseball from the Inside,” is
a fascinating study of how to steal signs and avoid being caught. With all the outcry
today when a player or team are accused of stealing signs, baseball has
obviously changed a lot in this regard over the years.

***In a random note, the former house of Al Lopez, who had a
Hall-of-Fame career as a catcher and manager, was recently
moved in Tampa. The move was part of the Florida Department of
Transportation’s Interstate Historic Mitigation Plan, and the house will
eventually evolve into the Tampa Baseball Museum at the Al Lopez House. The
endeavor will celebrate over a century of baseball in Tampa, stretching from
Lopez’s rise, to Negro League play in the area.

***Finally, your moment of Zen. The Northeast has been slammed with
heavy rainfall and flooding recently. While they wait for summer weather to
show up, they can entertain themselves by watching this clip from several years
ago of Florida Atlantic University and Western Kentucky University passing the
time with a very creative dance-off during a rain delay.